■IRELAND
Trapattoni inks new contract
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni on Friday penned a new two-year contract with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) which will take him through to the end of the Euro 2012 qualifiers. The 70-year-old will attempt to book a trip to next summer’s World Cup finals as the Republic lie second in their qualifying group, having won four and drawn four of their games in the campaign so far. “I am delighted to continue my job with the FAI,” said Trapattoni, who’s contract had been due to expire next year. Trapattoni named a 27-man provisional squad for next month’s decisive qualifiers against his native Italy and Montenegro, adding Steven Reid, Paul McShane and Darren O’Dea to the men who did duty in Cyprus earlier this month.
■ARGENTINA
Maradona drops players
Embattled Argentina coach Diego Maradona juggled his team for next month’s two critical World Cup qualifiers, dropping seven players and giving a first-time call up to Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain. Maradona also recalled midfielder Pablo Aimar to the squad. The biggest shock was the dropping of seven players who were in the squad for losses last month to Brazil and Paraguay. The defeats have left Argentina out of the top four automatic qualifying places from South America for next year’s World Cup. Gone from the squad are Fernando Gago, Javier Zanetti, Jesus Datolo, Maxiliano Rodriguez, Lisandro Lopez, Pablo Carrizo and Nicolas Burdisso. Argentina play at home on Oct. 10 against Peru and they wrap up qualifying a few days later against Uruguay.
■LONDON
Forty matches probed
UEFA is investigating 40 cases of suspected match-fixing involving Champions League and UEFA Cup matches, a senior official at European soccer’s governing body said on Friday. Peter Limacher, UEFA’s head of disciplinary services, said his department was probing early qualifying matches over the last four years involving clubs “mainly from eastern Europe.” Of the 40 matches where UEFA has been alerted to suspicious betting patterns, 15 took place in the last two years, Limacher said. “Right now it’s mainly eastern Europe clubs being investigated. They know they are not going to be involved later in the tournament and they are going out, so decide: ‘Let’s make a profit,’” Limacher said.
■SWEDEN
Keeper cleared to play
IFK Goteborg goalkeeper Kim Christensen has been cleared to play for the Swedish league leaders this weekend, three days after admitting he moved the posts to make the goal slightly smaller during a midweek game. The Swedish Football Association’s disciplinary committee said on Friday that a possible suspension or fine will not be decided until Thursday. “We are investigating [the case] until then,” disciplinary committee chairman Kenneth Tallinger told newspaper Expressen.
■GERMANY
Bochum win on the road
Diego Klimowicz scored in the seventh minute to give VfL Bochum a 1-0 victory at Nuremberg for their first win on the road in the Bundesliga on Friday. It was also the first win for interim coach Frank Heinemann, who stepped in for the fired Marcel Koller less than a week ago. Paul Freier sent a sharp low cross from the right for Klimowicz to knock in at the far post for what was one of Bochum’s few chances in the first half. Nuremberg fell to their third defeat in four home games.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China yesterday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, while Naomi Osaka retired from the women’s singles final with an abdominal injury. Second seeds Wu and Jiang defeated Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US 6-3, 6-4 on ASB Tennis Centre’s Stadium Court in 1 hour, 5 minutes. The WTA 250 victory was 25-year-old Wu’s second WTA Tour title, after winning the 2023 Hua Hin Championships in Thailand with Taiwanese partner Chan Hao-ching. Later that year, Wu and Taiwan’s Hsu Yu-hsiou won the mixed doubles gold at the World
SHORT-HANDED: Reigning champions the Boston Celtics were without stars Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, but they still downed the Timberwolves Oklahoma City on Thursday stretched the NBA’s best winning streak to 13 games with a home victory, while reigning champions the Boston Celtics held on for a last-shot triumph at Minnesota. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 29 points and eight assists to spark the Thunder over the Los Angeles Clippers 116-98, improving the Western Conference leaders to 28-5. The Thunder’s winning streak is the longest since the team relocated from Seattle after the 2007-2008 season. “It’s just being present, going day by day, working on ourselves, and I think we’re doing a good job on that,” said Isaiah Hartenstein, who added 11
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